Central American Migration - Essay Example

Nicaraguan migrants went to us in three waves with the first consisting of the overthrown Somoza family and their associates, wealthy business people and members of the National Guard in the 1970s followed by the middle-class professionals and business people in the 1980s, and lastly the poor workers and young men escaping recruitment in the contra war. Their flight unlike the Cubans was not welcomed by the American government who classified them as illegal aliens and used varied ways to try to stop their entry into the United States.

Even after conditions improved in their home countries, many Central Americans did not return home due to a variety of reasons, the end of hostilities did not improve their security at home. In Nicaragua, former contras and fragments of the Sandinista army continued to fight especially in rural areas and El Salvador and Guatemala death squads and vigilante groups also operated. (Guierrez, 1960). This coupled with increased crime rates reduced the number of immigrants willing to return home and led to many more Central Americans migrating to the United States 

Depending on their social-economic status, Central Americans used several strategies to survive in the harsh United States. Wealthy immigrants used their economic resources and business connections to buy assets in the United States on which they lived comfortably. Many exiles including the Somoza family transferred their assets to Miami banks in the; late 1970s and they moved into fashionable residences in key Biscayne and Brickell Avenue where they invested heavily in condominiums in the suburban western edge of the city (Alenjandro, 1993).

These were later to be sold to Nicaraguan professionals and business people during the second wave of migration. This group experienced tough economic hardships on United States soil and the majority worked in unskilled trades to earn a daily living due to an uncertain future. The professionals gradually moved into their fields of work and some steadily advanced in a professional capacity because of prior work experience in their country of origin. 

Professionals used existing friendships with Cuban Americans developed in school to get financing to start their businesses (Alenjandro, 1993). The peasants and Nicaraguan workers migrated chiefly due to war and economic hardships brought by war. Nicaraguan peasants and workers migrated because the United States sponsored contra war and they became unskilled laborers in the host country.

The decision by the United States to classify Nicaraguan immigrant’s illegal aliens exposed them to very many challenges because they did not receive any benefits like their predecessors the Cubans despite their situations being the same. Finding jobs was exceedingly difficult and the few jobs available had very low wages. They had to contend with odd jobs undocumented unskilled jobs. Their main source of employment was from Jewish and Cuban factory owners who previously depended on Cuban exiles for labor (Alenjandro, 1993). To survive the immigrants took any job that was offered as they didn’t have a choice and this stimulated the local economy tremendously. They also went into small entrepreneur ships to earn which served their countrymen as the native white population was increasingly hostile and rejected them at every front.

Concern for the increasing populations and increasing public services costs increased anti-immigrant sentiment among public officials and consequently, they were biased against Nicaraguans. The Nicaraguan migration took less than ten years, the existing elite Nicaraguan population had not established themselves well enough to absorb all the new migrants, and hence the local communities and county governments had to give them charity. The United States policy on the contra war resulted in very few Nicaraguans receiving political asylum. The unsuccessful Nicaraguans were denied any refugee assistance, resettlement aid, and welfare and government loans and were denied English learning education opportunities offered to Mariel and Haitians (Alejandro, 157). They were later to be denied temporary work permits and deportation proceedings started against them if improperly documented (Alenjandro, 1993).

To counter against the challenges facing them in the United States. Central American communities developed deep ethnic solidarity, which helped many of them get networked jobs in many small industries. Nicaraguans bought businesses in areas they heavily populated and they converted them to suit their needs creating more jobs for their communities. Though legal challenges prevented the Nicaraguans from uniting into a single political voice, they organized themselves into numerous groups that upheld their religious traditions, culture sports and drummed up support to pressure the government to soften its stand on them. The groups also demanded legal immigration status and medical supplies for the rebels (Alenjandro, 1993). Because of their ethnic solidarity, they forced the Herald newspaper to switch sides and support their fight which was fundamental in gaining support from local populations and the Miami county government. The presence of Central American populations in the United States has increased transnational interaction between the regions with their remittances to their countries of origin playing significant roles in the economy.